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Over an extended period, coercive phone calls persisted. Originally, reportedly from a former police officer and an ex-military commander, and then from law enforcement directly. Finally, a local artisan states he was ordered to the police station and warned explicitly: stop speaking out or experience severe repercussions.

The leather artisan is part of a group fighting a expensive initiative where Dharavi – a massive informal community with rich history – faces bulldozed and redeveloped by a multinational conglomerate.

"The unique ecosystem of this area is exceptional in the planet," states the resident. "Yet they want to destroy our community and silence our voices."

Contrasting Realities

The cramped lanes of Dharavi sit in stark contrast to the soaring skyscrapers and Bollywood penthouses that loom over the neighborhood. Dwellings are assembled randomly and frequently missing basic amenities, unregulated industries release harmful emissions and the atmosphere is filled with the suffocating smell of uncovered waste channels.

To some, the vision of Dharavi transformed into a glistening neighborhood of high-end towers, neat parks, shiny shopping centers and homes with proper sanitation is a hopeful vision realized.

"There's no proper healthcare, roads or sewage systems and we have no places for children to play," states A Selvin Nadar, 56, who relocated from his home state in 1982. "The sole solution is to clear the area and provide modern residences."

Resident Opposition

But others, including Shaikh, are resisting the project.

None deny that Dharavi, historically ignored as informal housing, is desperately requiring economic input and modernization. But they fear that this plan – absent of public consultation – could potentially turn premium city property into a luxury development, evicting the marginalized, immigrant populations who have resided there since the late 1800s.

It was these excluded, relocated individuals who developed the empty marshland into an extensively researched phenomenon of local enterprise and business activity, whose economic value is valued at between $1m and a substantial sum a year, making it one of the world's largest unofficial markets.

Resettlement Issues

Out of about 1 million people living in the packed sprawling area, less than 50% will be qualified for replacement housing in the redevelopment, which is estimated to take seven years to complete. The remainder will be moved to undeveloped zones and salt plains on the far outskirts of Mumbai, risking fragment a generations-old community. A portion will not get homes at all.

Those allowed to remain in the neighborhood will be given flats in tower blocks, a significant rupture from the natural, collective approach of dwelling and laboring that has maintained Dharavi for many years.

Businesses from tailoring to clay work and recycling are likely to shrink in number and be transferred to an allocated "commercial zone" distant from residential areas.

Existential Threat

For residents like this protester, a craftsman and multi-generational resident to reside in the slum, the redevelopment presents a fundamental risk. His informal, multi-level workshop makes leather coats – formal jackets, premium outerwear, studded bomber jackets – marketed in luxury boutiques in upscale neighborhoods and overseas.

His family dwells in the spaces underneath and his workers and garment workers – workers from north India – also sleep on-site, allowing him to sustain operations. Away from this community, accommodation prices are often 10 times as high for minimal space.

Harassment and Intimidation

In the official facilities in the vicinity, an illustrated mock-up of the Dharavi project shows a contrasting outlook. Fashionable people gather on bicycles and e-vehicles, acquiring continental baguettes and pastries and socializing on a terrace outside a restaurant and Ice-Cream. This depicts a complete departure from the inexpensive idli sambar breakfast and budget beverage that maintains Dharavi's community.

"This isn't development for our community," says the artisan. "It's a huge land development that will make it unaffordable for our community to continue."

Additionally, there exists concern of the development company. Headed by a prominent businessman – a leading figure and a supporter of the Indian prime minister – the business group has encountered allegations of favoritism and ethical concerns, which it denies.

Although the state government labels it a collaborative effort, the business group paid a significant amount for its majority share. A case stating that the project was improperly granted to the corporation is under review in the nation's highest judicial body.

Continued Intimidation

After they started to vocally oppose the project, local opponents claim they have been experienced a long-running campaign of coercion and warning – comprising communications, explicit warnings and insinuations that opposing the development was tantamount to opposing national interests – by figures they claim work for the corporate group.

Among those alleged to have delivering warnings is {a retired police officer|a former law enforcement official|an ex-c